Monthly Archives: July 2014

It’s always been appealing to me to pare down unimportant things and filter out the excess information that quickly adds up to an overloaded life. Streamlining whenever possible comes natural and feels right.

Which is why you can imagine my delight when spotting the book The Power of Less by Leo Babauta. Thumbing through it I could see how much he, too, values identifying what’s essential, staying focused on things that matter, setting limits on the non-essential stuff that easily clutters schedules, and seeing the positive impact this has on our lives.

Conventional wisdom says that in today’s multi-channel, multi-tasking world such a blueprint for bringing order makes a whole lot of sense.

But conventional wisdom, it turns out, goes only so far.

There’s a spiritual element worth taking into account here. It introduces a sweeping new measure of what’s essential and helps clarify what people could use less and more of in order to live a healthy, happy, productive life.

Those who feel driven to redeem their lives from the clutter and noise that add up to stressful living should consider that they’re actually responding to something deep and quite native to them – their spiritual nature and a spiritual universe — and rebelling against that which is out of sync with both.

It should come as no surprise that a spiritual nature and a harmonious spiritual universe would find expression in being drawn to more calm, to more peacefulness and stability, and more harmony. It’s the impulsion to spiritualize human life. There are people in all parts of the world today who are responding to this impulse and gravitating Spiritward. They’re pursuing spiritual practices, praying, studying Scriptural texts, attending lectures and taking classes because they’ve felt something of the inspiration and life-altering effect of having a more spiritually-centered life.

The flip side of that coin is what happens to people’s health and lives when they drift in the opposite direction and allow too many unimportant things — frivolous activities, gadgets, excessive socializing — to occupy their minds. They end up falling behind. They forfeit efficiency and productivity and then they struggle with worry and stress. When they reach a point where they feel miserable and are in over their head in a materialistic world, they wake up to the need for less of it.

What can be overlooked in this stirred up state of mind is that the steps that will bring about needed change are pretty simple, and highly effective if they’re taken deep enough. “Think less of material conditions and more of spiritual,” is what keeps lives on a progressive track according to Mary Baker Eddy in her book Science and Health.

People who do this on a moment-by-moment basis have discovered how effective such a rule for living is and how following it gradually changes their view of themselves and of the conditions around them. They feel control being restored, not simply because they took control of a few moments in their day but because in those moments of quiet and prayer they’ve become more perceptive of the harmonious nature of a spiritual universe that is everywhere and that includes them.

As that happens – in the workplace, at home, or during the commute — priorities begin to change, as do the decisions that impact daily life. People find that not only can their standard of life be higher and better, but a higher standard is deserved and quite natural.

That, to me, is the take away here. That’s why there’s widespread appeal in cutting out excessiveness, in clearing away distractions, in making time for contemplation and prayer, in living efficiently and with more grace, and in being productive. It’s actually natural and inspiring to aim one’s life in this direction and then live accordingly.

That’s also why people can stick with it when they do. They soon realize that this is less about creating a new life and more about reinstating the original one.

Russ Gerber works in media relations. He spent many years in news programming, most notably with the Christian Science Monitor. He is passionate about the subject of health care and also blogs for Huffington Post.

In their experiments, mice had more energy, muscle tone, less inflammation, and increased insulin resistance with the compound. This might be analogous to a 60-year-old human feeling like a 20-year-old. In fact, human trials could start as early as this year. “We think that should be able to keep people healthier for longer and keep them from getting diseases of aging,” Sinclair said.

While it may sound like they’ve discovered the fountain of youth, we don’t need to wait until the elixir becomes commercial. Research shows how our attitudes, lifestyle, and views on aging can determine whether we age gracefully or not. And doesn’t this all boil down to what we think about aging? If we are fearful and accept decline as inevitable, we’ll start to accept limitations that foster more fear and play out in actual decrepitude.

Long before our current highly technical research into the process of aging, people caught glimpses of the mental and spiritual nature of long life. Take 19th century, health researcher and Christian theologian, Mary Baker Eddy, for instance. In her book, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” she says, “Never record ages. Chronological data are no part of the vast forever. Time-tables of birth and death are so many conspiracies against manhood and womanhood. Except for the error of measuring and limiting all that is good and beautiful, man would enjoy more than threescore years and ten and still maintain his vigor, freshness, and promise. Man, governed by immortal Mind, is always beautiful and grand. Each succeeding year unfolds wisdom, beauty, and holiness.”

Eddy herself embraced these ideas living twice the life expectancy of her day and accomplished her greatest life’s works in the last 20 years.

One-hundred-and-one year-old, Fauja Singh is a prime modern day example of this. Nicknamed the “Turban Tornado,” the Indian-born British national, officially completed his last race as the world’s oldest marathoner before retiring in 2013. Sprinting across the finish line he said, “Today is one of my happiest days…I felt so fresh and so good. I felt I’m full of power today.”

Singh took up running in his 80’s after the death of both his wife and son. Running helped him overcome depression. “When I took up running it was like meeting God himself,” he said. “I have been running ever since.”

In fact, medical tests, taken at age 99, showed that Singh’s health was comparable to a 40 year-old man. Asked if he found it difficult to run a marathon, he said, “’The first 20 miles are not difficult. As for last six miles, I run while talking to God.”

If aging is the result of a misguided concept of ourselves, then using wrinkle-free cream, botox, a compound injection (tested on mice), or getting a facelift won’t help us live longer because they don’t reshape our views on aging. Instead we can refuse to see ourselves as helpless victims of decline and limitation and focus on our God-given qualities of vigor, beauty, freshness, and promise in ourselves and others. Then we won’t have to wait for the “fountain of youth” but can experience full, disease free, vital and long lives right now.

Valerie blogs on health and spirituality. She is also the media spokesperson for Christian Science in New Jersey and a Christian Science practitioner. Contact her at @valerieminard.

The moments that followed a deep-down prayer for help many years ago had an all-alone, helpless feel to them. On the surface, nothing had changed and I was heartbroken. Hours of contemplation, listening, yearning to be heard and helped, and still no answer, no help. If there was a divine influence nearby, able to help me progress in my life, it was ignoring me.

On hindsight, I learned how far off the mark that reaction was. More on that in a moment, but first my reason for recalling this decades-old experience. It came to mind after reading an article in the June 2014 issue of The Atlantic on what the author (and others) describes as the adverse effects of meditation, mostly associated with the mindfulness movement.

According to assistant professor of psychiatry Dr. Willoughby Britton, people are phoning, emailing, and visiting her describing some pretty dark experiences. They talk about meditation-induced emptiness and loss of selfhood. One visitor said to her, “I’d be in the middle of practice and what would come to mind was everything I didn’t want to think about, every feeling I didn’t want to feel.”

Britton isn’t opposed to contemplative practices, she says, but recognizes a need for greater thoroughness and honesty in the study of them. “No one has been asking if there are any potential difficulties or adverse effects.”

It was that comment that reminded me of my own difficulties following a time of prayer. Instead of feeling inspired, I felt the opposite. Instead of being helped, I felt alone. This wasn’t the kind of progress I was praying for.

Little did I know what was going on below the surface. The next day I came across an article I’d bookmarked months before. It charted what one woman had learned about turning one’s life completely around and starting anew. I was struck by the author’s description of the doubt and darkness that accompanied the first stage of growth in such a turnaround. It wasn’t pretty. In that piece written by Mary Baker Eddy titled Pond and Purpose, she exposes what may come to the surface: “Tears flood the eyes, agony struggles, pride rebels, and a mortal seems a monster, a dark, impenetrable cloud of error.”

If that’s all that prayer does it hardly makes sense as a trustworthy means for developing a happier, healthier life. But the article goes on to explain why the bad stuff comes to the surface in the first place, and what follows the upheaval. Anyone who’s gone through a room demolition and subsequent remodel gets the picture.

It’s a mental stirring and purification, the opening of one’s eyes to whatever qualities of thought would stifle progress and hold them down. This isn’t the absence of a divine influence we’re talking about, but rather the purifying effect it has on a mind that allows no room for a divine influence. I’d never thought of prayer as having a jack-hammer effect, and that being what I needed. But if that’s what it takes to uncover and uproot self-justification, self-will, anger, materialism–any mental obstruction to progress and spiritual growth–then let the demolition begin. And don’t be fooled by what’s going on.

In my case, I left a career path I’d been on for decades. It lost its appeal and I thought I could launch out successfully on my own. After several months things started looking grim. I was unable to re-enter the job market and had exhausted most of our family’s funds. One morning as I sat on a chair in the living room desperate for help, I took my best shot at prayer. I was calm and quiet on the outside, but mentally I was crying out for help. What followed after a long period of time was deep disappointment that nothing was happening. I remember feeling alone, having no one who truly understood the inner turmoil I was experiencing and how to turn it around.

But in the weeks that followed a turnaround was indeed taking place. Gradually I developed a greater interest in world events. Locally I helped out at a community organization, took care of some administrative needs at church, and was available to take care of our daughter during the summer break at school.

Over those months I became concerned less about my own needs and more about the needs of others, and although our financial challenges were sometimes severe something felt right about the path we were on. It seemed a divine influence was having a purifying effect. Selfishness and fear were giving way to unselfishness and confidence.

At the end of summer I received a call from a friend who knew of my skills and who also knew of an opening at The Christian Science Monitor. It turned out the job was a perfect fit and became the starting-point for a whole new career.

As heartening as the outcome was, the initial turning point at that time in my life was messy. If ever there was a temptation to believe I was hopelessly stuck and that a longing for progress and divine aid had ended in emptiness, that was it.

In this case and others like it, however, the indications of upheaval aren’t necessarily a bad sign, but in fact a good one. All the while below the surface, old thinking is losing its grip and transformation is underway.

That’s important to remember when it comes to individual lives. It’s also important to remember when it comes to the world in which we live.

Russ Gerber works in media relations. He spent many years in news programming, most notably with the Christian Science Monitor. He is passionate about the subject of health care and also blogs for Huffington Post. His original article appeared in Psychology Today.

“Fat talk” we’ve all done it. Either the silent conversation we have when we look in the mirror critiquing our own physique. Or, the “helpful advice” we have received or might have given someone else about the few extra pounds gained. As harmless as all this might seem, researchers have found that that kind of “helpful advice” can actually backfire and increase the chance of obesity. Why? Because the put downs are more likely to turn their recipients to seek consolation in comfort food – possibly adding more pounds to the body.

“Fat talk” coined by researchers in 1994, describes the self-deprecating talk and fear, that women in particular (of all ages), have about their own body, food, or eating. The good news is we don’t need to accept for ourselves or others that negative model that may lead to overeating, guilt, poor self-image, or mental health issues. Those negative thought patterns can be broken.

But, “how?” you might ask. Well, my own experience tells me, it takes reframing how we see ourselves from a view of the body alone to a spiritual perspective.

Just like Michelangelo looked “inside” the marble to reveal the sculpture of David he carved, we need to to choose what model we want to carve of ourselves. I’m not talking about the impossibly skinny models that are in magazines, but the model or spiritual qualities we hold in thought. Health and Christian author Mary Baker Eddy says, “Deducing one’s conclusions as to man from imperfection instead of perfection, one can no more arrive at the true conception or understanding of man, and make himself like it, than the sculptor can perfect his outlines from an imperfect model, or the painter can depict the form and face of Jesus, while holding in thought the character of Judas.”

Why is this important? Because studies show that a positive self-image (which we can gain through spiritual identification) can lead to health and self-control. I know this because I struggled to lose weight while in graduate school. But, instead of going on a crash diet, I decided to make a daily practice to identify myself in terms of qualities I reflected from the Divine. Yes, I did try to eat healthier and more balanced meals. But, I think the key was really that I regularly affirmed that I was always loved, lovable, beautiful, and loving because Divine Love is the source of my being. This empowered me, made me feel satisfied, and helped me resist reaching for comfort food– and bit by bit the weight came off.

Does this mean I never indulge in “fat talk” or it’s counterparts any more? No. But, right identification helps me recognize when I’m veering off course; reminds me those are not the ideas I should include in the model I sculpt of myself; and enables me to toss them out.

So when “Fat talk” rears its ugly head, let’s vow to turn it around and talk and live the qualities we really want to see in our life and cherish for others. And don’t be surprised if weight is no longer a problem and you discover how beautiful you already are.

Valerie is a health and spirituality blogger. She is also a Christian Science practitioner in Collingswood, New Jersey.